Book II Chapter 16

So, God is in charge of everything. Salvation was initiated by God based on his mercy and for his own glory. Or whatever. But, while we were still in sin, God hated us. Which is it? Did God hate us or love us?

Calvin comes up with a weird answer to this: both. God hated us while we were sinners, but he loved us enough to initiate a redemptive work. Calvin echoes his main man Augustine: 'he both hated us and loved us at the same time' (II.16.4). To me, this is clear proof that God is a teenage girl.

But, it is most important, says Calvin, to understand God's actions through the lens if Jesus Christ, whose redemptive work defines the whole of the issue.

Calvin then tackles a few issues that have always bothered me. Remember, he is following the Apostle's Creed as a structure for Institutes. He takes a few moments to comment on some specific portions of the Creed.

1. Why does the Creed skip from the virgin birth of Jesus to his suffering under Pontius Pilate? What happened to everything in the middle? Calvin defends the Creed by saying that the Creed emphasized Christ's obedience and redemptive work. Which, should be a model for us.

That's dumb. The Creed makes no mention of the ethical teachings of Jesus - the great majority of the Gospels. Can you imagine telling Mark, Matthew, John or Luke that the parables, sermons and teachings of Jesus are of secondary importance to his redemptive work?

2. Christ descended into Hell. I have to confess, when I am in Church, I go mum at this point in the Creed. I have no idea why it is in there. Apparently, in Calvin's day, there was an effort made to nix it from the Creed. So, obviously, I am not the only one that finds it to be baseless.

Calvin, defends it, however, on the basis that it is both a way of confirming our belief in his death and his suffering. It is important that we remember that he actually did die a real death, and he really suffered, so that we do not have to suffer and so that we might be delivered from death. So, Calvin says leave it in.

OK. Fine. But, I still have the same issue. Why is this more important than Matthew 22:38-39? The Creed is supposed to represent the foundational elements of our faith. Why is Christ going to Hell (an extra-Biblical assumption, btw) more important than loving your neighbor?

3. Ascension. Calvin defends the fact that the Creed lists Christ's Ascension into Heaven  as a foundational portion of our faith using the same basic method as he did with the previous issues. I'll, then ask the same question. How is this more important than the actual important stuff?